Four year old accidentally shoots mother in the back

Some of you may remember the story of how a four year old accidentally shot his mother in the back with a high caliber handgun. The mom, Jamie Gilt left it where the kid could get his hands on it and then he accidentally shot her.

This story is a couple of years old and certainly not representative of all gun owners, but its worth sharing one of the responses I received to this.

My question was a simple one, should this mother who clearly demonstrated how stupid and irresponsible she was with guns be allowed to continue possessing firearms? The answer to me is a no brainer and is illustrated below. I posed the question to one of my right wing, extremely progun friends and here was his response.

I find it bizarre that despite this mother allowing a four year old to gain access to her firearm, then being shot with it, is still viewed as capable of owning firearms by this guy and many others who share his views. He says that she made one mistake and that this mistake shouldn’t take away her second amendment rights.

From my vantage point, that thought process is insane. Anyone who is not responsible to this degree should never be given a second chance. The next time, the kid might end up shooting himself in the face. Remember, this is a four year old child, the one who has to demonstrate responsibility and take steps to insure his safety is mom. She didn’t and because of this she came very close to being dead. In addition to that, she endangered the child’s life.

Yet, even with that, this dude is willing to allow her to own firearms. I’m not surprised, but the level of disconnect here simply baffles me.